Cleveland is now out of the playoffs in the East with their lose Sunday to Detriot and NJ Nets win over Philly. With two games left, home with Boston (Tuesday) and on the road to Toronto (Wednesday), it is all but set that they will miss out with Richard J back for NJ and NJ having the tie breaker. So who is enjoying seeing Cleveland choke at this moment? 1. Paul Silas (who was unceremoniously shown the door) 2. NJ Nets (who against all odds and injuries now have real playoffs hope) 3. NY Knicks (who are hoping that Lebron will demand a trade as rumoured by Spike Lee if the Cavs fail to make the playoffs).
The Bobcats. They now have two lottery picks this draft unless Cleveland somehow reclaims the eighth spot --- courtesy of Jim Paxson [he traded a lottery-protected pick for Sasha Pavlovic, whom the Cats selected in the expansion draft, then were forced to remove the protection after the Jiri Welsch deal in order to get around the Ted Stepien rule. Brilliant!]
BTW, now that he's no longer a Celtic, I want to come clean and make it clear that I've always felt that Jiri Welsch was a poor basketball player, despite me trying to hype him up and suggesting the Rockets trade for him. I'm just doing my part. Anyway, if Dan Gilbert lets Lebron go... Cleveland can say goodbye to the Cavs. Still, from a trade standpoint, I don't think Lebron's touchable, nor do I think that he's the kind of person to demand a trade before his rookie contract expires (sorry Knicks and Lakers fans.) But Lebron or no Lebron ... the Cavs aren't going anywhere, even with their capspace this offseason.
I'm enjoying it because I want the Nets in the playoffs to see if they can make some noise with Richard Jefferson back.
ditto. I'm am loving this. So glad his team didn't last to make it to the playoffs. If his team did, we would keep hearing about him in the playoffs. I am sick of hearing about James.
Not totally out, but very close, it will intersting to see if they can in fact make it. Cavs lose the tie-breaker against both the Nets and 76ers, so they need to win more games than one of them. Each team has 2 left, one of the games for the 76ers being against Milwaukee who Iverson average about 3,000,000 points a game against, so you can chalk up a victory for them with 99% chance it comes true. So the 76ers are a safe bet to be there for the playoffs. The Cavs have 2 games left, against Boston and Toronto, and they need to win at the very least one (and hope NJ lose both their games) or win both and hope NJ lose one. NJ play Boston and Washington. So if the Cavs beat Toronto, and lose to Boston they will be hoping like crazy that Boston and Washington beat NJ. Which is a possibility. All NJ need to do is win the same number of games that Cleveland do out of the last 2. I'm guessing NJ will beat Boston but lose to Washington, eliminating the Cavs and securing their return to the playoffs.
Amazing how the Cavs were hyped up as a team that would "upset" someone in the first round (back when they were 5th seed and predicted to make a move for homecourt adv in 1st round ). Who would you rather be now: Lebron or Melo? (Looks like Bron Bron will miss playoffs for 2nd time in a row, while Melo will be 2 for 2). On a more serious note for the NBA, if I were David Stern now, I would be crying like a little girl because some of the marquee players in the league (Garnett, Kobe, Lebron) are missing the playoffs (Seriously Lebron, how can you NOT make the playoffs in the FREAKIN' EAST!!! It is not like he has the Orlando Magic lineup that T-Mac had, and even then T-Mac still made it 3 out of 4 tries). So pretty difficult to imagine Lebron/Garnett/Kobe on a first all-NBA team with their teams falling short of almost every one's expectations this season. Add to that the fact that the Knicks are going nowhere in the near future, and the Lakers being unlikely to get Garnett to go to LA, and you figure the league might have trouble drawing anyone to watch the playoffs this year.
Wow I missed that one. I remember reading that somewhere earlier. BernieB and Bobcats fans will be holding vigils now. The NY/NJ talk shows will have more than enough to talk about Monday morning. The plot tickens.
I feel bad for LeBron(unless of course it's true that he told the new Cavs owner to fire Silas), but I'm sick of Cleveland getting so much attention when they haven't accomplished a damn thing in years, or ever for that matter. So I have to admit, I'm enjoying their collapse right now. Besides, who wouldn't rather watch Jason Kidd and Vince Carter in the postseason?
Man, I'm just glad he didn't come out of high school and absolutely suck. He already had all of those deals, can you imagine what it would have been like if he ended up being terrible?
me. i like lebron as a player and it's not really his fault that the media has latched on to his testacles but i would LOVE for them to miss the playoffs and not have to hear about that underachieving team for a while. anyways i think it's premature to say their out. it's very possible that nj loses their last two games, though i don't think they will.
Too bad about Cleveland's demise, really. I'm a Rockets fan first, NBA fan second, that sort of thing. The Cavaliers in the playoffs would be good for the league (although I do get sick and tired of the ESPN and TNT Hype Machines with their promo spins: LeBron vs the Heat! LeBron vs The World! LeBron Has Breakfast! SEE LEBRON DUNK! OH MY GOD!!!!) But the Cavs have folded, and now they need some help, because the teams above them in the standings at #7 and #8 (Filthadelphia and Joisey; nothing personal, Filthy natives; Houston's no Garden of Eden) own tiebreakers against BronBron.
I'm enjoying it because I don't like their new ownership. Cleveland was playing for homecourt advantage and had a little slump, and he's fired just like that. I think if Silas had remained, they'd have gotten over the rough patch and been solidly in the postseason (with or without homecourt). Firing him was bad karma, and now they reap what they've sown. It's too bad I'm rooting against them because I like Lebron James and really hate New Jersey (EG fallout still, I guess). But, NJ will get eliminated pretty quick anyway, so I won't worry too much about that.
